Education P3 Perspectives

Functionalism 

 

Functionalists believe that education helps maintain social order and prepares individual for their roles in their later life 

 

 Durkhiem – believes that education can help promote social solidarity by instilling shared norms and value through subjects like History and Music. 

 

Education also teaches children specialist skills, this is because in the industrialized society, there are now more career paths to chose form, meaning that kids may not choose the career path of their parent, who wont be able to teach their children the necessary skills for the workplace, as such the school makes sure to do it, often through vocational subjects like BTEC's 

 

 Parsons – school as a bridge : Parsons argues that education acts as a bridge between the family and the wider society, transitioning individuals from particularistic standards to universalistic standards 

Schools also indorse role allocation, where schools promote meritocracy by rewarding the most talented students with high grades and qualifications, ensuring that employers can find the most able people 

Davis and Moore – Role Allocation : education sorts people based on their ability, ensuring that the most talented individuals occupy the most important societal roles 

 

 

Marxism 

According to Althusser, the role of education is to persuade young people to accept their roles in the capitalist society  

 Althusser  - argues that capitalism has ideological state apparatuses to prevent challenges to capitalism  

1. Ideological state apparatus  - where education controls beliefs 

2. Repressive state apparatus – where education physically controls people, ie through rules and detentions 

Education reproduces social inequality by legitimising the ruiling class ideology  

 

Bowles and Gintis – Education system mirrors the workplace hiearchies through the social correspondence principle  

Meritocracy is a myth  

 

Willis 

New Right  

Argues that education should promote meritocracy, competition and shared values. The New Right argues that state run education is insufficient, as a result they advocates for the marketisation of education, where schools compete like businesses, empowering consumers and driving up quality by choice. 

Chubb and Moore – argues that state run education fails to create equal opportunities, therefore, failing to meet the needs of the disadvantaged students. Private schools deliver a high quality of education because they are accountable to fee paying customers. Pupils from lower income do 5% better in private schools than in public schools. 

New Right Theories 

  • Reduction in government spending – new right theorists argue that a lot of government spending is wasteful and that they should either reduce it or make sure that it directly benefits students 

  • Vocationalism – new right theorists argue that the government puts too much emphasis on education, some of which has little relevance in the work of work, more emphasis  should be placed on vocational education